I will start with history: Sometime around 2016, Microsoft launched an IaaS service called Azure Container Service a.k.an ACS serves as a bridge between Azure Ecosystem and existing container ecosystem being used widely by the developer community around the world.

It helps as a gateway for infrastructure engineers and developers to manage underlying infrastructure such as Virtual Machines, Storage, Network Load Balancing services individually than the application itself. The application developer doesn’t have to worry about planet-scale of the application, instead, a container orchestrator can manage the scale up and scale down of your application environment based on peaks and downs of your application usage.

It offers an option to select from 3 major container orchestrators available today such as DC/OS, Swarm, Docker, and Kubernates. ACS along with your choice of container orchestrators works efficiently with different container ecosystems to enable the promise of application virtualization.

To make it simpler, ACS is your Super Glue to gel your Azure infrastructure and your container orchestrator together. Means you will be able to make your fully managed container cluster in a matter of minutes with Azure.

ACS is for making your microservices dream come true, by providing individual services scale according to the demand and automatically reduce the scale, if usage is low. You don’t have to worry, ACS and your container orchestrator will take care of you.

If you are a beginner to container-based infrastructure for your applications, you don’t have to take the pain at all of setting up Kubernates on your own, instead, ACS will simplify your implementation with a couple of easier click thru’s and your container infrastructure is ready to be fully managed by you. As simple as that.

What is Azure Container Kubernates Service (AKS) then?

As I am writing today, Microsoft has a new fully managed PaaS service called as Azure Container Service (AKS) or Managed Kubernates, meaning that Kubernates would be your default fully managed container orchestrator, if you choose Azure Container Service. But you would be able to deploy other open-source container orchestrators if you prefer to choose to have your own unmanaged Kubernates, Docker or DC/OS and then add your specific management and monitoring tools.

This service is currently available in PUBLIC PREVIEW, you can get started from here

Means though it is a fully managed service, you still have the option to manage it your own using your preferred set of tools and orchestrators.

Charging Model

Whether you manage your AKS service with your own set of tools and orchestrator or you use Fully Managed Kubernates, you only need to pay for resources you consume. No need to worry about per-cluster charges like other providers.

It has been a while I have written something on my blog. I thought of getting started again with a good news that Microsoft Azure team has announced the general availability of Azure Database Services for MySQL and PostgreSQL. In my earlier posts, I have provided some oversight into Preview Availability of these services as part of the Azure cloud. Now that it is generally available, customers should be able to utilize these services for their general purpose or enterprise level database requirements in Azure Cloud.

During Microsoft Build 2017(May 10th 2017) conference in Seattle, Scott Guthrie (EVP of Cloud and Enterprise Group) announced two new offerings to the Azure Database Services Platform, Azure Database for MySQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL.

I was happy that Microsoft is filling the gap for the need of Fully Managed MYSQL and PostgreSQL . I recollect around in April I was trying to migrate this WordPress blog from Godaddy hosting in to an Azure App Service to provide and since WordPress requires MySQL as the database. The only option left for me in Azure was to have local MySQL(MySQL in App) in App Service, which cannot scale well or either use Clear DB service (a Microsoft partner in azure). Some how I wasn’t happy with the performance of local MYSQL and Clear DB, due to my bulky blog. So I thought what if there was a Managed MYSQL service just like Managed SQL Azure services.

What is Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL?

Azure Database for MYSQL and PostgreSQL(currently in PREVIEW) are fully managed Platform as a Service(PaaS) offering from Microsoft Azure, which does not want us to worry about infrastructure and managing the server instance. Below is the outline of how these services has been stacked up against existing SQL Database offerings. As a customer you do not need to worry about the Compute, Storage, Networking, and high-performance/availability/scalability of these services ensured by Azure Data Service Platform with built in monitoring.

You easily deploy an Azure Web App with Azure Database for MySQL as the database provider, and to provide complete solutions for common Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress and Drupal.

I will cover more details in later series That’s all for now. Thank you for reading my content. Leave your comments.

With my earlier article Azure in China, it came in to my interest to look for any other country/region specific independent cloud data center requirements. I came across Azure for US Govt(Similar to Amazon Govt Cloud) instance and Azure Germany data center. For this article context I will be covering only Azure in Germany.

What is Azure Germany?

Just like regional regulatory requirements in China, Germany also wanted a completely locally owned/managed Azure Data Center for EU/EFTA/UK requirements. This is also to ensure stricter access control and data access policy measurements. This approach is to enable organizations doing business in EU/EFTA and UK can better harness the power of cloud computing.

All customer data and related applications and hardware reside in Germany

Geo-replication between datacenters in Germany to support business continuity

Highly secured datacenters provide 24×7 monitoring

It meets all Public sector or restricted industry requirements

Follows all Compliance requirements for EU/EFTA and UK.

Lower cost, locally accessible within your business locations in Germany/EU.

“ Azure Germany is an isolated Azure instance in Germany, independent from other public clouds.”

Who controls it?

An independent data trustee controls access to all customer data in the Azure Germany datacenters. T-Systems International GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom and an experienced, well-respected IT provider incorporated in Germany, serves as trustee, protecting disclosure of data to third parties except as the customer directs or as required by German law.

**Even Microsoft does not have access to customer data or the datacenters without approval from and supervision by the German data trustee.

What Compliance?

Azure Germany has an ongoing commitment to maintaining the strictest data protection measures, so organizations can store and manage customer data in compliance with applicable German laws and regulations, as well as key international standards. Additional compliance standards and controls that address the unique role of the German data trustee will be audited over time. Refer to:Microsoft Trust Center compliance.

Microsoft Azure presence in China is always a question when there is a need for any customer to deploy azure applications specifically for Chinese Regional customers.

Recently I had an interaction with a Microsoft Certified Trainer, who carelessly said Azure only uses Chinese partner based environment is only for serving CDN (Content Delivery Network) needs, partial knowledge is difficult to convince. Being a Certified Trainer, he should have known these. As I recollect my earlier experience with azure, I was aware that Microsoft has partnered with 21Vianet , to setup a Chinese instance of Azure with most possible IaaS, PaaS and SaaS offerings are available to Chinese customers. At the same time data would reside within Chinese governments data privacy and storage regulations.

Similarly other competitor cloud providers such as IBM also partnered with 21Vianet to setup their BlueMix instances in China.

Microsoft Azure in China

General availability of Azure in China through 21vianet partnership has been announced in March 26th 2014. These Azure Services in Chinese region will be operated and sold by 21vianet.

Windows Azure, operated by 21Vianet, is based on the same technology as Microsoft’s global Windows Azure service and offers a reliable, flexible and value-based service to bring Microsoft’s latest cloud technologies and benefits to Chinese customers and propel forward technological development in China as a whole.

Why Partnership?

As per Chinese Government(PRC) Cyber Security Law and Governance policies there is a clear restriction for a foreign entrant to obtain license and provide services to Chinese customers. All the data relating to Chinese customers should reside within Chinese Data Centres, and foreign companies would have to pass on the operational ownership to a Chinese company in order to operate within PRC(Peoples Republic of China).

In Additional to that on November’2016 new amendments attached to new PRC Cyber Security Law (effective 1st June 2017).

As per DLA PIPER

The new law will come into force on 1 June 2017 and has significant implications for the data privacy and cybersecurity practices of both Chinese companies and international organisations doing business in China.

The new PRC Cybersecurity Law intends to combat online fraud and protect China against Internet security risks. In short, it imposes new security and data protection obligations on “network operators”; puts restrictions on transfers of data outside China by “key information infrastructure operators”; and introduces new restrictions on critical network and cybersecurity products.[Read more from Source]

Not all all services of Azure including Mobile Services, Analytics and IoT Suite are available for Chinese regions. I will try to cover a specific list of services that are available for China region.Azure China is a few versions behind regular Azure and not all services are supported. Some of the services supported are:

Microsoft has today released their IoT SaaS offering for customers and partners called as “Microsoft IoT Central”. IoT Central enables powerful IoT scenarios without requiring cloud solution expertise and also simplifies the development process and makes customers to make quick time to market solutions, making digital transformation more accessible to everyone without overhead of implement solutions end to end.

As per Microsoft :

“IoT Central provides an easier way to create connected products that propel digital business. Take the complexity out of the Internet of Things (IoT) with a true, end-to-end IoT software as a service (SaaS) solution in the cloud that helps you build, use, and maintain smart products.”

Benefits of IoT Central:

Proven platform and technology with enterprise grade security.

Reduced complexities of setting up and maintaining IoT infrastructure and solutions.

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” -Phil Collins

About

Nithin Mohan – A passionate hardcore application programmer, software architect, and technology evangelist with over 13 years of experience in Web, Mobile, and Cloud applications design and development.
A hardware geek, a kick-starter, and a quick learner.

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